Your Android Device Will Soon Automatically Reboot to Protect Itself
Android is getting a new security feature that makes it harder to hack your device if it’s lost, stolen, or confiscated. With the latest update to Google Play Services, Android phones and tablets will automatically reboot (and require a password to decrypt them) if they remain locked for three days in a row.
How Android Auto Restart Works
Android and iOS devices already revert to a Before First Unlocked (BFU) state upon restart, requiring the user to enter a password or PIN before enabling certain features such as notifications and biometrics. The data is encrypted and is not accessible in the BFU state until the correct password is entered to put the device into the After First Unlocked (AFU) state. While it is possible to extract some data from a device in BFU mode, it is much more limited than from a device in AFU state.
Once this Google Play Services update arrives on your Android device, it will automatically reboot (in BFU mode) if it remains locked for three consecutive days. This means that unless your phone is in your possession and has been unlocked, anyone who tries to access your data (such as law enforcement or thieves) will face a higher level of security that cannot be decrypted without your password.
Late last year, Apple added a similar feature to iOS 18.1 called “restart when inactive,” which automatically restarts your iPhone and re-encrypts its data if it’s not used for four days.
According to 9to5Google , Google Play Services update 25.14 will be released next week. Automatic restart may not be enabled immediately, but it should appear on your device without updating the OS. It’s also unclear at this time whether users can turn this feature on or off (or whether you’ll be notified when an automatic restart occurs), or which Android versions will be supported.